In Transit
by JavaQuilava
Summary: Cassandra Lynne Harker, in trying to get away from a homicidal ex, ends up running into something she does NOT expect.  On top of that, she is trying to come to terms with the fact that her father might not be returning from a war she has stumbled upon.


**Okay. So…**

**Technically, not my **_**first **_**story here on FF, I did start one for Harry Potter…but I gave up.**

**Anywho, here's a crack at a Transformers fanfic. I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this first…tiny chapter, whether I should continue, if I got off on a good start, etc. Constructive crit is certainly welcome.**

**This will center around an OC of mine, and our favorite Autobot, Optimus Prime. Not a romantic pairing, but we'll see what happens. Story starts at the beginning of the first movie. Rated T for language, and stuff that may come up in later chapters.**

**And, of course, a disclaimer: I DON'T OWN TRANSFORMERS! ;A;**

**Alright, here we go…**

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><p>"<em>Ouch<em>!"

Blazing cerulean eyes burned intensely into the offending piece of furniture that had stubbed Cassandra's poor pinkie toe. Slamming her fist down onto the coffee table had only served to make the hot-headed blonde more irritated as she stalked into the apartment's small kitchen. She navigated her way through the kitchen quickly, pulling two Hot Pockets out of the freezer to heat up for her 1-in-the-afternoon breakfast. A 16 oz. Red Bull would be her accompanying drink for her food, as it always was.

Her ears caught the faint melody of a song from her bedroom, which signaled that her phone was ringing. Grumbling, she stumbled her way back through the livingroom to her room as the melody grew louder. Cassandra dove for the small end table beside her bed as she answered the device, cutting off the Mötley Crüe song that had announced the call.

"Hello?" she rasped into the phone.

"_Now, don't tell me that you ain't even awake yet, Missy,_" a sunny male voice chirped.

"Dad? Is that you?" Cassandra squealed, all traces of sleep gone from her voice. "Where do they have you stationed now?"

"_The SOCCENT base in Qatar, sweetheart_," Matthew Harker told her. "_Now why ain't your ass up already? Half the day's gone!"_

Cassandra chuckled into the phone. "It's my day off, Dad. God knows I haven't been able to actually _sleep _'till the late afternoon in quite some time!" Cassandra's voice then adopted a softer tone. "You being careful out there?"

Her hands unconsciously squeezed her cell tighter, betraying the worry she always felt when he was away from their tiny apartment home.

"_I sure am, sweetie. Don't you worry; I'll be home real soon, just a couple more weeks. Once I get back, we'll hit Dave up and see if we can't do some flying. I know you've been dying to get back in the sky again, Cass."_

"You bet, Dad!" Cassandra affirmed, pumping her fist in anticipation. "That'd be amazing."

They continued to talk a while longer, and Cassandra cherished every minute of it. These days she hardly ever got to see her father, what with him in the Air Force and all. Cassandra was usually alone, seeing as it was just her and her father—after her mother, Lynne Harker, had been taken away from them by a drunk driver—Matthew was on active duty in the Air Force as a fighter pilot. Cassandra was still having trouble with her mother's death, since it had occurred just eleven months prior. Needless to say, she was high-strung with worry on an almost daily basis, only receiving a break from her anxieties once her father was safely home and in her sights.

Cassandra was pulled from her saddened reverie by her father's next question. "_So have you signed up for the next semester at that college yet, baby girl?_"

"Not yet," she sighed.

"_Cass, you know that's important. You need to get your education in._"

"I _know _that." Cassandra took another deep breath as she fought off an unexpected pang of sadness. "Why can't I just join the Army, or the Air Force, like you?"

"_That is out of the question, Cassandra. You know that. I won't take that risk. I'm not going to lose you as well, Cassandra Lynne, and you'd do well to remember that._"

Cassandra couldn't argue with his tone of voice, and she regretted even bringing the matter up…yet again. Cassandra couldn't deal with the pain that lay underneath his strict 'father' tone. He had taken his wife's death with much difficulty, and in a way, the Air Force had been a godsend for Matthew—but not for Cassandra. She had to be without them _both_ for long periods of time.

"But I don't want to lose _you _either, Dad," she whispered.

"_Hey, I told you that'd I'll be on my way home in just a couple of weeks. After that, I won't be going back for a while, Cass. Sort of a break for me, for us… It'll just be a little whi… ..onger…_"

"Dad? Hey, you're breaking up. Dad, I can't hear you—"

"…_eetie? Cass…dra, y… th…_"

"Dad?" Cassandra held the phone tightly in her grip, as if it were a lifeline.

"_I…ve…ou…andra..._" His voice cut off as the line went dead, and icy fingers closed around Cassandra's heart in an unforgivable grip.

"_Dad_?" Cassandra shot up from the bed, frantically running her hands through her hair as she searched through her phone's contacts. Upon finding the name Dave, she hit the Call button and was rewarded with a dial tone.

Her small hope, however, was short-lived. Cassandra swore violently in frustration as the phone continued to ring, with no signs of being answered. Her small Samsung found itself being tossed carelessly onto the bed as Cassandra tore out of the room, heading back to the livingroom. As she caught sight of the TV, a sudden thought struck her. She quickly grasped the remote, and turned to the news channel. At first it was meager, meaningless reports of daily nonsense that greeted Cassandra's blazing blue eyes, until she glimpsed a ribbon running across the bottom of the screen.

'_SOCCENT BASE UNDER ATTACK; NO WORD ON SURVIVORS AT THIS TIME._'

Cassandra stood riveted to the spot. Words bounced around in her head, quickly losing all sense of meaning. She found herself choking back a sob while sinking to the ground, staring at the TV in disbelief as they _finally_ began to air the full story.

Defense Secretary Keller's voice penetrated her head without mercy. "_At this time, we can't confirm whether there were any survivors. Our bases worldwide are, as of now, at DEFCON Delta, our highest readiness level. We're dealing with a very effective weapons system that we have not come across before. But, our prayers are with the families of the brave men and women…_"

"No, no, no… _God _no…"

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><p><strong>Short first chapter is short. Alrighty...<strong>

**~Lucy Fox**


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